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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Biases in online reputation systems: a survey of the empirical literatureReputation systems are essential for creating trust and reducing information asymmetries in online markets. However, they are vulnerable to biases that distort information, erode trust and potentially cause market failure. This paper surveys the empirical literature on five key sources of bias: (i) strategic actions of sellers such as fake reviews and rebate-for-review programs, (ii) reciprocity, (iii) social influence bias, (iv) selection bias and (v) noise. It analyzes the biases through a unified framework decomposing errors into three distinct signatures: systematic mean shifts, variance inflation and serial correlation. A central finding is that platform design involves trade-offs: interventions targeting one error signature often exacerbate other distortions. By illustrating how biases interact, this paper provides a diagnostic roadmap for platform operators, regulators and policymakers to match interventions to the specific error signatures while compensating for secondary effects, ultimately enabling reputation systems to maintain trust, reduce information asymmetries and enable efficient online markets.Publicationtype: Journal Article48 10 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Vaccination decisions under risk: experimental evidence from the COVID-19 pandemicWe examine how risk preferences influence vaccination decisions and subsequent behavior in a pandemic context. Using data from 2,701 individuals from seven European countries, we employed an incentivized ‘virus risk elicitation task’, adapted from the bomb risk elicitation task, to elicit individual risk preferences in a health-related context. In the first part of the experiment, all participants faced a risk of infection without the option of vaccination. In the second part, some participants were offered a vaccination option that reduced potential losses from infection. We found that most participants were risk-averse and that there was an inverse U-shaped relationship between risk preferences and vaccination uptake: individuals with risk preferences closer to neutrality were more likely to opt for vaccination. Among participants who chose vaccination, we observed an increase in social interaction, which is consistent with risk compensation behavior. These results provide evidence on the relationship between risk preferences, vaccination decisions, and post-vaccination behavior, offering insights into the drivers of vaccine hesitancy and informing the design of future public health strategies.Publicationtype: Journal Article22 13 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Der Wertschöpfungsprozess der KI-BasismodelleDie voranschreitende Entwicklung der Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI) hat das Potenzial, die Wertschöpfungsprozesse, die Geschäftsmodelle und die Marktstrukturen in der Wirtschaft stärker zu verändern als die bisher aus der Wirtschaftsgeschichte bekannten Transformationen wie etwa die Einführung der Dampfmaschine, der Elektrizität oder des Internets. Im Zentrum der KI-bedingten Veränderungen stehen die sog. Foundation Models (FM), im deutschsprachigen Raum auch als Basismodelle oder KI-Basismodelle bezeichnet. Sie haben das Potenzial, sich zu digitalen Kraftwerken des 21. Jahrhunderts zu entwickeln. Daher arbeiten die Wettbewerbsbehörden intensiv daran sicherzustellen, dass der Wettbewerb zwischen deren Anbietern funktioniert. Für ein besseres Verständnis dieses Wettbewerbs gibt der Beitrag einen Überblick über die FM und ihren Wertschöpfungsprozess aus mikroökonomischer Perspektive.Publicationtype: Journal Article53 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Inflation expectations and cognitive uncertaintyThis paper provides a new perspective on the formation of inflation expectations based on a sample of 1036 US residents. In our information provision experiment, the participants were provided with professional forecasts of different historical accuracy and complexity. Our novel experimental design allows us to assess the influence of cognitive uncertainty while controlling for the uncertainty associated with forecasts and priors. Consistent with cognitive uncertainty we find that more complex forecasts lead to smaller updates of inflation expectation.Publicationtype: Journal Article26 24 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , A taxonomy of AI experimentsWe introduce a taxonomy of artificial intelligence (AI) experiments. Our taxonomy produces four types of AI experiments: conceptual AI experiments, stylized AI experiments, quasi-natural AI experiments, and natural AI experiments. At the core of our taxonomy is the sophistication of AI used, which we evaluate using a simple and robust proxy test of whether AI is developed exclusively for a research study. We discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and best use cases for each type and illustrate the use of each type in various examples. We provide a guide on how to choose the type of AI experiment that best fits a given research question.Publicationtype: Journal Article32 12 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Heterogeneity in health insurance choice: An experimental investigation of consumer choice and feature preferencesWe investigate heterogeneity in health insurance choice using data from a controlled laboratory experiment. Participants make consecutive choices from sets of insurance plans that vary in premium, deductible, and complementary coverage of illnesses. We find that there is considerable heterogeneity in how much individuals are willing to pay for certain plan attributes. To better understand these differences, we account for individual risk preferences using a rank-dependent expected utility (RDEU) model and assess the welfare effects of plan choices. At the aggregate level, we find welfare losses under both the normative RDEU model and the descriptive EV model. At the individual level, however, the results are more differentiated: for some individuals, choices are consistent with their RDEU preferences, whereas for others, choices do not fit either model, suggesting either decision errors or reliance on heuristics.Publicationtype: Journal Article32 20 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , The impact of process automation on performance(2025-05-19)This paper explores how process automation affects performance, particularly in bonus-related evaluations. Using a principal–agent framework, we study the impact of predefined criteria set during system design. Specifically, we examine two scenarios in which the performance threshold for bonus payments is set either ex-ante (before performance is known) or ex-post (after performance is known). Worker performance is measured using the chosen-effort method. Our design emphasizes the role of the decision-maker in the automation process, while also considering the influence of process fairness, trust in the process, and expectations. We find that performance is significantly lower when an automated process is used, but there is no difference in performance based on who makes the decision to automate. Furthermore, we observe no variation in perceived fairness or trust between the two processes, although expectations differ. Our results suggest that while automation impacts performance, the decision-maker’s role and perceptions of fairness and trust do not significantly affect the performance, but expectations do.Publicationtype: Journal Article53 24 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Lineare RegressionsmodelleIn kartellrechtlichen Fragestellungen werden regelmäßig ökonomische Analysen herangezogen. Sofern dafür Datenanalysen eingesetzt werden, geschieht dies mit ökonometrischen Methoden und in vielen Fällen mit einem Regressionsmodell. Das Ziel eines Regressionsmodells ist es, eine oder mehrere endogene (erklärte bzw. abhängige) Variablen durch eine oder – in der Regel – mehrere exogene (erklärende bzw. unabhängige) Variablen zu erklären. Weit verbreitet sind lineare Regressionsmodelle, deren Parameter mit der gewöhnlichen Methode der kleinsten Quadrate (Ordinary Least Squares, OLS) empirisch geschätzt werden. Sofern ein anderes Modell verwendet wird, weist dessen Form oft Gemeinsamkeiten mit einem linearen Regressionsmodell auf. Deshalb sind grundlegende Kenntnisse des einfachen bzw. multiplen linearen Regressionsmodells auch zum Verständnis anderer Regressionsmodelle hilfreich. Der Beitrag erläutert die Funktionsweise von linearen Regressionsmodellen und einige damit verbundene Begriffe. Dafür wird zunächst das einfache lineare Regressionsmodell erläutert und anschließend das multiple lineare Regressionsmodell. Danach werden einzelne wesentliche Aspekte für die Verlässlichkeit der gewonnenen Ergebnisse skizziert.Publicationtype: Journal Article13 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , The courtesy game(2025-03-21); ; Abstract In this paper, we study the role of courtesy in the solution of asymmetric social dilemmas. To this end, we introduce a novel game, the Courtesy Game, and show with the help of a laboratory experiment that an efficient equilibrium in the form of turn-taking, i.e., alternate play of the weakly dominant and weakly dominated strategies of the stage game, only emerges in a partner matching and in a few groups in which certain players take the lead. One conclusion from this result is that a ‘courtesy equilibrium’ does not arise spontaneously but requires explicit rules of conduct.Publicationtype: Working Paper4 23 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Communicating tokenomics and monetary policy : a comparative analysis of real and virtual economiesThis article investigates the economic governance of blockchain-based virtual economies in the context of monetary policy. Focusing on tokenomics communication, we employ deductive and inductive approaches, applying real-world monetary policy metrics and text mining frameworks. Our comparative analysis reveals that the tokenomics communication in blockchain-based virtual economies primarily functions as a fundraising tool, lacking policy discussions, with divergences from real-world economies in policy goals and numerical targets. Furthermore, our research highlights similarities between blockchain-based virtual economies and early-stage low-income developing countries in communication dynamics.Publicationtype: Journal Article54 435